10 things to watch for in Sunday’s race at Watkins Glen

By Tom Jensen

Carl Edwards, the pole-sitter for Sunday’s Cheez-It 355 at Watkins Glen International, pretty much nailed what to expect in the second and final road race of the 2016 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. “I think tomorrow is going to be a little bit of an adventure,” Edwards said of Sunday’s race. Indeed. With rock-hard tires and a new asphalt track surface, this race will be as much of a wildcard as anything on the schedule this year. Here are 10 things to watch on Sunday.

Getty ImagesJeff Zelevansky

10

New kid on the block

Sunday morning before the race, the supremely talented Erik Jones will be introduced at the driver of a second Furniture Row Racing Toyota Cup car for 2017. This will make a strong team even better.

Getty ImagesChris Trotman

9

Where there’s Smoke

Tony Stewart ranks second all-time in NASCAR road race victories and he qualified a strong third for this race. With one victory and four top fives in his last seven starts, Stewart definitely has his mojo back in this, his final season.

Getty ImagesSean Gardner

8

The great unknown

No one knows how the tires will wear over a long run, or for that matter, how the track will take rubber. Expect a lot of slipping and sliding on the hard tires, which during practice inexplicably seemed to get faster after a few laps. We will see some unusual tire strategies on Sunday.

Getty ImagesMatt Sullivan

7

Coming through

Martin Truex Jr. was pissed that he got blocked by Ricky Stenhouse Jr. on his qualifying lap, relegating Truex to 14th on the starting grid. Nevertheless, Truex has one of the fastest cars in the field and should mount an aggressive charge to the front.

Getty ImagesSean Gardner

6

Off the pace

Hendrick Motorsports continues to struggle. None of the team’s four drivers qualified in the top 12 or have shown much speed this weekend. Hendrick’s last win came at Auto Club Speedway on March 20, four-and-a-half months ago. And right now, the team is on track to have its fewest wins in a season since 1993, when Jeff Gordon was a rookie and the team’s other two drivers were Ricky Rudd and Ken Schrader.

Getty ImagesBrian Lawdermilk

5

Win and you’re in

After Sunday’s race, there will be just four races left in the Sprint Cup regular season. Four winless drivers qualified in the top 10 -- Kyle Larson, 2nd; Ryan Newman, 8th; AJ Allmendinger, 9th; and Jamie McMurray, 10th. This may be the best chance for one of them to win and lock in a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup.

Getty ImagesChris Trotman

4

The points race

Chris Buescher, Monday’s winner at Pocono, is currently 31st in points, 6 point behind David Ragan. Buescher needs to be ranked 30th or higher at the end of the regular season to be Chase eligible. Buescher qualified 25th at Watkins Glen, just one spot ahead of Ragan. Keep an eye on this battle.

NASCAR via Getty ImagesJeff Zelevansky

3

Don’t be fuelish

Remember how this race ended last year? Kevin Harvick was leading on the last lap, but ran out of fuel in Turn 6, allowing Joey Logano to steal the victory. Fuel mileage could well decide this year’s race, too.

Getty ImagesChris Graythen

2

The favorites

All four Joe Gibbs Racing Toyotas qualified sixth or better. Hard not to pick them as the favorites on Sunday. Of all the JGR drivers, Kyle Busch is probably the strongest road racer. He might just add to his victory total this time.

NASCAR via Getty ImagesRobert Laberge

1

Let’s get physical

Last but not least, NASCAR road racing has in recent years become what short tracks used to be: The place where drivers aren’t afraid to use their bumpers and/or fenders to move someone out of the way. We saw a great three-way, last-lap fight here in 2012 with Kyle Busch, Brad Keselowski and Marcos Ambrose, and earlier this year at Sonoma, Tony Stewart moved Denny Hamlin in the last corner of the last lap to win. We will likely see a lot more of the boys -- and girl -- having it at the Glen, too.